Read The Inspiring Story Of This Mother From Haryana Who Secured 2nd Rank In UPSC 2017 Exam

IWB Post

May 15, 2018

Anu Kumari’s story is exactly why we need to take the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign seriously in India. The Haryana woman is currently in the news after she secured the second rank in the UPSC 2017 examination.

Always a bright student, Anu from Sonipat was motivated by her family to give her best at school and later, in college. Anu tells The Better India, “My father used to work in the HR department at a hospital, and my mother was a homemaker. After completing school, I secured admission in Hindu College, Delhi and pursued a degree in Physics.” This required her to commute from Sonipat to Delhi by train, every day.

To pursue MBA, Anu moved to Nagpur, which was the first time for her away from the home. Following this, she secured a job at ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund with a handsome salary in Mumbai. After working with the company for 2 years, she shifted to Gurugram, where she also got married.

She says, “I was learning with the job, and the financial security that it brought to me was immensely satisfying. (But) once the financial stability came in, I started feeling meaningless. Questions about the purpose of life started coming to me, and I did not have any answers to them.” This was when her uncle encouraged her to prepare for civil services. Hence, in 2016, she left her well-paying corporate job and started preparing for the exam.

In her first attempt, she missed clearing the cut-off by one mark. After a year, she appeared for the exam once again and this time, she came out with flying colors. She remembers, “That period was maddening. I knew that I had very little chance of clearing the exam as I had no time; therefore I started working as hard as I could and would prepare ‘all-the-time’. Even sleep seemed like a waste of time then.” Anu says she found it easier to study in the morning rather than staying up late at night. At 1 pm, she would take her lunch break followed by a nap and then would go back to study. “On days when it got too much, I would take a break and walk around the house, talk to my cousin for a while, or just sit on the terrace,” she says.

So she could stop herself from getting distracted in any way, Anu asked her mother to babysit her little son. “Initially, I was at my mother’s place and would go to the nearby library to study. However, once I came home, my son, Viaan, all of 2.5 then, would demand my time. I knew that even those few hours that I was spending away from my books would hamper my progress. It was very difficult. Every time I left him behind, we would both would be crying, me much more than him. Sitting down to study after that was also a very difficult task. It would take me some time get into the studying mind frame again,” she says.

She added, “I had moments when I wanted to give it all up and go back to Viaan. Something kept me going, and I am thankful that I did not give up. I had given up so much to clear the exams; my son, my high paying job – I just had to go on. I remember watching the videos of my son’s antics that my brother would keep sending me.”

This determined woman and her family set the right kind of example for those who consider daughters less than boys. We send Anu, who’s got her training scheduled in August this year, many good wishes.